Gneiting weighed 396.2 pounds after the marathon, smashing the past world record of 275 pounds and beating his 2008 marathon time of 11:52:11.

"I'd like to see the Kenyan improve his marathon time by two hours," he joked.

Gneiting jogged the first eight miles and walked the final 18, saying afterward that he lost track of where he was after mile 10 because he felt delirious.

Gneiting said he realized that he was at mile 15 only because his friend met him there with clean socks.

He finished the 26.2-mile race despite heavy rains and strong winds. For much of the race, he was also forced to obey traffic signals and walk on the sidewalk because he was walking far more slowly than the 13-minute-per-mile-pace used for calculating street reopenings.

"I was really struggling in the last five miles," he said, "but I said to myself, 'If I have to crawl, I will.'"